New Delhi: In 2006, when global advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy took on the task of building a new, cool airline brand from scratch, their peers laughed. Indian passengers, the conventional wisdom went, cared only about price, and no amount of branding could change that. "Today, they don't ask us that question anymore," says Mohit Dhar Jayal, MD, Wieden+Kennedy Delhi.
Despite launching squarely in the budget airline segment, IndiGo promoter Rahul Bhatia and his agency were clear about their goal: IndiGo would be the third cool international budget carrier after JetBlue and Southwest Airlines of the US.
And it's got there. According to aviation expert Rajan Mehra, IndiGo now carries more corporate passengers than leisure travellers. "The mix of corporate and holiday travellers for IndiGo has increased to 60:40," he says.
This transition in positioning and perception was the result of a very conscious plan put together by the brand and agency. At the time of launch, print and outdoor media were used to focus on launch markets, with the tagline "Ready for take-off".
20/03/13 Anindya Upadhyay/Economic Times
